Saudi Arabia is ahead of the world in esports.. The rules of a new era are laid

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become a pioneer by achieving high success rates in the manufacture and organization of unique and high-quality global events at all levels, and winning the hosting of the most important international events in various fields, especially sports ones, in which it is always referred to the great success accompanying all the details of hosting, organization and hospitality, thereby achieving developmental leaps in various aspects of life concerned with humanity as a whole, keeping abreast of the modern, new and innovative in human life and the existence of his life.

After winning the organization of Expo 2030, the 2034 World Cup, the 2027 Asian Cup, and the previous successes by ably and professionally hosting many international sporting events, such as the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup and the Dakar Rally for 10 years, to be the first country in Asia to win hosting this largest global sporting event in terms of rally racing, and such huge global sporting events, it was praised for its good organization and hosting.

Today, the kingdom renews its primacy by reading the future and dealing with it as a living reality, as it has taken upon itself to start a digital world, related to Entertainment, economic and sports aspects, by hosting the first edition of the World Cup of sports and electronic games in its capital Riyadh, dedicated to prizes worth 60 million US dollars, enticed more than 2,500 players to participate in it, with expectations of 2 million visitors and attendees to the events of this global event, after it facilitated for fans of e-sports games to visit the kingdom, as they can obtain a visit visa to the kingdom as soon as they bought one ticket to attend the event, besides the announcement on Friday of the organization and hosting of an even more event In the same field, the hosting of the first edition of the Olympic Games for e-sports in 2025 is a huge one.

Regarding the details of the e-Sports World Cup, Turki al-Fawzan, CEO of the Saudi Federation for e-Sports, noted in a special statement to " was " that this tournament will contribute to achieving the goals of the national strategy for games and e-sports, promoting innovation globally, building competitive capabilities for this sector, in addition to affecting tourism, diversifying the economy and developing promising sectors in accordance with the kingdom's Vision 2030, and also highlights the vital role of the games and e-sports sector in Khaled al-Bakr, CEO of the quality of Life program, agreed with him and endorsed him, when he stressed in a press statement the importance of the gaming and e-sports sector, whether in terms of diversifying options and improving the quality of life of the kingdom's population, or supporting and empowering young people of both sexes interested in this field at the level of practice, entrepreneurship and startups, or at the level of creativity and innovation, pointing to the accelerated growth of the gaming and e-sports sector globally, which made the development of this sector one of the most important targets of the kingdom's Vision 2030, related to a plan and strategy that guarantees the kingdom to be the first Global Center for games and e-sports, because will contribute to Generating jobs, supporting the tourism, sports and entertainment sectors, and supporting and empowering talents in this vital sector in accordance with the strategy of the gaming and e-sports sector in the kingdom, which included the kingdom's hosting of competitive sports tournaments and events worldwide, the most important of which is the e-Sports World Cup hosted by Riyadh these days, promised by Ralph Reichert, CEO of the e-Sports World Cup Foundation, an exceptional celebration that unites the international community through games and e-sports, and achieves a leap in the e-sports industry, its development and sustainability across the entire sector, expressing his pride and enthusiasm for opening new prospects and possibilities for this Sports, watch elite esports clubs and athletes compete across the best games in the world for major prizes and to crown the first club as the champion of the eSports World Cup.

egarding this first-of-its-kind World Championship in the field of e-sports, Faisal bin Hamran, CEO of e-sports at the World Cup Foundation for e-Sports, confirmed that the kingdom has proven to be at the forefront of the global scene of e-sports and games by hosting the first edition of the largest event in the history of the sector "E-Sports World Cup", drawing attention to the excellence and, or the followers behind the screens، "Esports fans around the world have always dreamed of watching the best clubs and players compete in the most famous games, and the eSports World Cup succeeded in realizing this dream on the soil of the kingdom,"he said.

All this prompted crowds of skilled and professional Saudis and non-Saudis to participate in this event, which began on the second day of the holy month of 2024, numbering more than 2,500 players, they will compete over 8 weeks to win prizes worth 60 million dollars, in addition to many different cultural, entertainment, artistic and sports events waiting for the fans of this global event, which those wishing to attend to get tickets to enable them to enjoy and watch its events and its accompanying events.

Those players who were keen to participate in this global sports event agreed that they were exceptionally lucky, as they will write their names in the records of the history of this event in its first edition, especially in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has become a global hub and a major stage for esports competitions, and the actual beginning of professional players in this type of sports, based on the reactions they have touched from the makers, fans of esports, experts and investors around the world.

For his part, the Saudi player Ibrahim Ali "Quartz", who is a professional in the game Overwatch 2 and plays for the Saudi Twisted Minds team, considered his participation in the eSports World Cup as a dream come true, being part of the event and a special moment on a personal level, and a great honor to represent him and his national team in this World Cup, as an important moment in his career as a professional player, noting his great pride in hosting the kingdom for the largest event in the history of games and esports, especially as it is a global sports event that will witness the participation of the best eSports players the world is in competitions, which will make all confrontations difficult.
Similar to the Ali player, the Saudi player Raif al-Turkistani, a Tekken 8 Pro and a representative of the Dragons team by the name of Luminous Rage, commented on his mixed feelings due to his participation in the event, and the amount of enthusiasm he is experiencing for going through a global competition of this magnitude, and those feelings have increased the kingdom's embrace of this global event, he said: "I have dreamed all my life of this moment and I will do everything I can to win the championship myself and my team, especially in light of the support that we all have as Saudi players from the Saudi Electronic Sports Federation," he said, adding that support is one of the most important motivators to provide high technical performance, and to improve to better levels continuously, stressing his readiness and his team to show their potential as Saudis to reflect the best image of the Saudi player in front of the world.

The most important player in the South Korean T1 team, which includes a group of elite electronic gaming stars, "Lee Sang Hyuk" known as "Faker" is one of the most prominent professional players in the world of esports, as his name was recently included in the esports Hall of Fame in the League of Legends game, who won four World Championships, has 10 joint titles in the South Korean league and Korean champions, and participated in several tournaments for more than 12 years, and his individual skill and leadership led his teams to win a championship days ago at this most important event currently hosted by the capital Riyadh he expressed great happiness with the support that he and his team received from the Saudi audience, which is very present He stressed that Riyadh has become one of the most prominent and important capitals of the world in hosting important international tournaments in e-sports, in addition to the status it has become within his heart, due to the memories he and his team carry during their participation in the tournament, and the achievement they were able to achieve during this participation.

The positive feedback supporting the kingdom's serious steps in developing this sector locally and internationally confirms that the kingdom has been able to read, first of all, the extent to which the e-sports industry, or "competitive video games", is capable of being one of the most prominent and important industries of our time, out of sympathy for the overwhelming popularity of these sports, and the expansion of the growth of its users from children and adults, which contributed to the entry of many major technology companies, Game Developers and e-sports institutions to invest in this industry, along with international interest in it through the organization of many huge tournaments held all over the world.

Esports also enjoys a huge global audience, surpassing the viewing figures of many traditional sports, and esports is the third most popular sport in terms of the number of views, esports tournaments and leagues are regularly broadcast on television and live streaming platforms of famous games, the largest esports events offer multi-million dollar prizes, and are witnessed by millions of fans around the world.

Large-scale eSports tournaments have attracted thousands of participants, spectators and millions of online viewers due to the possibility of being held virtually or in person, which has led broadcasters and streaming platforms to invest heavily in the eSports industries, with dedicated channels and platforms offering live coverage of tournaments and matches.

The esports industry has also witnessed significant investments from sponsors and advertisers, as brands, taking advantage of the growing audience and interacting with younger consumers, pushed to enter into this investment, which contributed to the growth of the industry.

The popularity of the esports industry has led to many major brands sponsoring teams or events, and major sports organizations such as NBA, NFL and Formula 1 have also entered the esports scene, starting to sponsor teams and championships to increase their reach to younger audiences.

Esports has also gained recognition from traditional sports organizations, where many have invested or created their own esports teams, for example, the American National Basketball Association has its own esports league called "NBA 2K League", which has contributed to the growing popularity of esports tournaments, along with the IOC's recent interest in exploring the possibility of including eSports within the Olympic Games.

Esports tournaments and competitions often feature popular video games such as first-person shooters, sports simulators, strategy games, and professional players and teams train intensively to compete with specialized coaches and support staff.

According to the development of the esports industry, the sector in Saudi Arabia is expected to generate economic contributions of Sar 50 billion by 2030, and the kingdom is also investing in its citizens and players to provide more than 39,000 jobs in various fields related to gaming and esports in the same year.

Moreover, the revenue of Saudi players is higher than the global average revenue per user, which proves the potential of the gaming and e-sports market in the country, and every year the total prizes of international and local tournaments exceed the barrier of SAR 100 million, reflecting the popularity of e-sports.

It is noteworthy that the Saudi Esports Federation has played leading roles in international federations to support the growth and organization of eSports, which embodies the kingdom's commitment to the development of the gaming industry, as the kingdom has recently succeeded in hosting many international events such as the gym season, which attracted more than 500 elite international athletes, and provided large financial prizes, which will contribute to strengthening the kingdom's position as a major and prominent player in the global gaming and esports arena.

With the continued growth and increasing mainstream recognition of esports, it is expected to have a bright future, as it is a rapidly growing and developing field, with great potential for further growth and innovation in the coming years, and it is likely to remain a major force in the entertainment industry in the coming years around the world.